


Whiskey Sour

by GlitterGold



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Canon Non-Binary Character, Eventual Romance, Explicit Language, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, Other, Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-19 10:37:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22776448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitterGold/pseuds/GlitterGold
Summary: Catra and Adora broke up months ago. Adora has moved on. Catra pretends she has, too. An attractive stranger isn't fooled, and makes her an interesting proposal.Catrouble fake dating AU.
Relationships: Catra/Double Trouble (She-Ra)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 188





	1. Set the Scene

**Author's Note:**

> This fic includes Fake Dating, with eventual Real Dating. Magic doesn't exist in this AU but all the characters who aren't human in the show still aren't human here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A broken heart meets a bad influence.

_This was a fucking stupid idea._

Catra sips her beer slowly, watching Adora's face over the rim. She's laughing at something Sparkle said. Was that her name? Or was it Glitter? Catra can't be bothered to remember. She wishes she could slam a few shots right about now, but the last time she got drunk she sent Adora an "I love you I'm sorry please take me back" text, and stars know she doesn't want to find out how much worse she would embarrass herself with Adora right in front of her.

"Glimmer!" Right. That's her name. "You're gonna make me choke on my drink!" Adora's drink is a cosmopolitan. She used to order beers, like Catra, before her new friends introduced her to mixed drinks.

"Not my fault I'm so funny." Glimmer smirks. "You just need to learn to hold your booze better."

"Oh. Oh ho. I can hold it just fine. Is that a challenge?" Adora gets that dangerous competitive glint in her eye. Catra knows it well. She used to see it a lot right before they went to bed together. Sex with Adora was like grappling. It was a spar, a dominance contest, and it didn't really matter who won in the end. Catra has never slept with anyone else like that. She loved it.

_Shut up! It's over. Stop being all nostalgic._

"Nope. No. No challenges. Especially not drinking challenges," says their other friend, Bow. The mediator to Glimmer's spontaneity. Why aren't those two dating? "You remember what happened last time."

Catra feels sick at the thought that Adora even has "last times" with her new friends. Has it already been that long?

 _Shut up,_ she tells herself for probably the tenth time this evening. Adora wants to stay friends. Catra should at least put in the effort. She screws on a devious smirk. "What _did_ happen last time?"

Adora whirls to look at her with delight. "Oh! Okay, so, Glimmer was cleaning our bathroom when I got home, and I said…"

Catra's forced smile falls. She lets Adora get through about two more sentences before she interrupts. "Wait - did you say _our_ bathroom?"

"Huh? Oh…" Adora blushes. Looks like she let something slip that she didn't mean to. And the Best Friend Squad already has secrets that Catra isn't privy to. Great. "Well… yeah. Actually, I moved in with Glimmer and Bow."

Catra raises her eyebrow. "Really? News to me. When did that happen?"

Adora pushes her fingertips together. It's a nervous tic. "Oh, about… a month ago?"

She's careful to keep the reaction off her face. A month ago. Four weeks. _What?_ "Huh. Well, congratulations, I guess."

Adora smiles. Catra can see the relief. She hates that Adora expects her to blow up now. "Thanks. Anyway, I was totally cleaning faster than her--"

"You were not!" Glimmer playfully elbows her.

"--and then she decided to cheat!"

"Using cleaner with bleach is not cheating! Who uses bleach-free when they're cleaning a bathroom?"

"And because of that," Adora says, laughing, "our cleaning warfare kind of turned into chemical warfare. We had to leave the apartment for like four hours until the chlorine gas dispersed."

"All of us," Bow adds pointedly. "All of the people who live there, which includes me."

"Sorry," they both say at once, looking totally not sorry. Catra gets the feeling they've made this apology a few times before.

Glimmer sighs contentedly. "But that just goes to show, if we can make it through a surprise toxic gas explosion, we can make it through anything."

Then, just as the song on the radio ends, she kisses Adora on the cheek.

And Adora doesn't look surprised in the least.

_What the hell?_

Catra tries. She _really_ tries not to sound outraged. Confused. Hurt. She fails, badly. "Hold on. Are you two… together?"

Adora stiffens and looks at her like she's just remembered Catra is there. Glimmer looks at Adora, brows furrowed. "You haven't told her?"

"I...I was going to. Tonight. Catra, I'm--"

"It's fine." She surprises herself with how emotionless she sounds. "What do I care who you date? We're not together anymore. So, you know. Whatever." She stands up from the table. "I'm gonna get another drink."

"Catra, wait." Adora stands up and touches her shoulder. She shrugs it off.

"I'll be right back." Her tone leaves no room for argument. Reluctantly, Adora sits back down.

Catra walks over to the bar. Then, after thinking about it, she takes a seat on a stool. She deserves a few minutes to herself, doesn't she?

In the next few seconds, a lot of stupid questions run through her brain. _How long have you been dating? How long did you wait to move on? What do you see in her? Do you like her more than you liked me? Is it because she looks more human? Is it because she's cuter? Did you even care about me at all or was I just the most convenient person to date?_ She shuts them all down.

The bartender approaches in her peripheral vision. "Whiskey," she says without so much as looking up. Then she remembers her conviction not to get drunk. "And soda." Then she thinks, _Fuck it._ "And make it a double."

"You got it, kitten."

She does look then, eyes scrunching up. "Don't call me that."

The bartender, a lizard of some kind, glances at her with the barest hint of a smile. Their body is on display in tight leather pants and a black button-up that could use a little more buttoning up. At a glance, they look pretty much androgynous. They're tall. Lean. And also completely gorgeous. Even in her mood, Catra can't help but notice that much. They don't look intimidated by her sneer. Actually, they look amused. "Me-ow. That storm cloud above you could just about block out the sun."

Catra looks back down, glaring at a stain on the bar. "Don't try to do that 'listening ear' thing bartenders do. I don't want to talk about it."

"Let me guess: bad breakup?"

Her head pulls back in surprise. She forgets to be mad that they're purposely ignoring her instructions. "I… yeah, actually."

"The blonde?"

The hair on her neck stands up. "Were you listening to us?"

They raise their hands defensively. "Easy, tiger. That table's too far away to hear from back here."

She reluctantly lets her hackles fall.

Then, as if tempting a stranger's temper is a fun little hobby, they smirk and say, "I was _watching_ you, though."

Her ears go flat against her head. "I'm not in the mood to play games."

"Aww, that's too bad, because I know a game that would make you feel a lot better."

Catra doesn't take the bait. "Why were you watching us? Are you some kind of creep?"

Their eyes widen. "Excuse you! It's called people watching. Everyone does it. When you're a mixologist, it's pretty much _all_ you do when you're not slinging glasses."

That… does make sense, actually. Maybe she's just being testy. But they did say "watching you" with a pretty suggestive tone. What was she supposed to think? "Fine. So how could you tell just by looking?"

They clap their hands together and smile cutely. "I'm so glad you asked! For starters, you came in first, separate from the three of them. Then you moped at the table alone with your first beer for ten minutes."

"I wasn't moping!"

They tap their chin. "Hmm, you're right. It was more like brooding. And I recognized the look on your face; this is the last place you wanted to be today, right?"

She refuses to confirm their annoyingly accurate speculation. But she is curious to see if they'll keep being right. "...Go on."

They bat their eyelashes. "Gladly! Those three came in after you, together, and the blonde was the one who waved to you. The boy and the sparkly one are wearing matching bracelets, so they're clearly inseparable. So, when he tried to shake your hand - bold move to just stare at him, by the way - I assumed it was your first time meeting both of them."

She tilts her head and looks at them sidewise. "Yeah. It was. You're kinda scary, you know that?"

"Thank you. But that's not all! The dead giveaway was how you've been looking at her all night."

She scoffs. "So? You've been looking at us all night. Everyone does it," she parrots.

"No, no, darling! Not just looking, but LOOKING. With an ember in your eyes, stamped and smothered but still burning with desire!"

"You're reading a lot into a look."

"A _lot_ of looks. But if you want something less subjective, I can give you that. For example, you watch her mouth when she talks. That's a sign of yearning, you know."

Yearning… she can't really deny that. She pretends she's over it, but pretending is the best she can do.

"And," they continue, "your ear twitched whenever she touched one of them. It took me a minute to figure out that's what was causing it, but it happened more than a few times. Perhaps... you were remembering how she used to touch you, hmm?"

Okay, that's just embarrassing. Catra flicks her ears straight back as if to hold them still. If she'd known they would be betraying her all night, she'd have worn a hat. "Alright, so you notice things. You're still assuming too much about a couple tics."

"Only if I'm wrong~!" they say in a sing-song tone. "Let me take a wild guess about your situation, and you tell me if I'm close. Fair?"

She raises her brow. She has to admit, this annoying bartender has piqued her interest. "Shoot."

They take a theatricality deep breath. "You and blondie broke up awhile ago after dating for a very long time. She pulled the whole 'let's stay friends' noise and you were still too in love with her to say no, so when she invited you to come hang out with her new friends you went along with it, even though you'd rather lose an arm than meet the people she replaced you with, because you're so obsessed with her that even the worst of her time is better than getting none of her time at all. And _now,_ you just found out she's dating her new friend." They lick their lips. "How close am I?"

She's frozen for a solid five seconds. Maybe she should be freaked out or embarrassed, but honestly? She's kind of impressed.

Apparently her stunned silence is all the answer they need. They grin. "Ooh. Drama."

Catra looks down, ears falling. Is she really that pathetic? A complete stranger can see right through her. Her feelings for Adora were once the only grounding force in her life, but now they're just making her miserable. It's over. _It's over._ But she can't let go...

"Perk up, kitten. We've all been there."

Instead of snapping at them for the pet name, she finds herself looking over her shoulder at Adora. She's talking to her new friends again, like Catra was never there… except… she's not smiling. Her forehead is tense. She's… worried. Figures. Catra finds her jaw clenching.

"That's just the worst, isn't it? When they dump you and then have the gall to feel bad about it. It would be more merciful to cut the rope and let you have your righteous anger."

Something compels her to defend Adora. As always. "...We were friends before we dated. Since we were kids. She just... doesn't want to end all the good stuff because of a dumb breakup."

She feels their eyes on her, like they're trying to read her. "Do you believe that, or do you suppose she just feels guilty?"

She wants to lie, but she just… can't. She's tired, and they're voicing things she's been thinking for months, and it hurts and comforts her all at once. "I don't know. Kind of feels like..."

"...like she doesn't want to take responsibility for leaving you alone?"

She rubs her forehead. "I don't… fuck, what do you want me to do, hate her? I can't! She's too _good_."

They idly trace a circle on the bar top. "I'm just an observer, darling. I don't want you to do anything. What do _you_ want to do?"

"I just... want to stop feeling like this."

They nod thoughtfully. Catra figures that's the end of it. Then she finally glances back up and sees them leaning in very close with their long, long tongue snaked up onto their eyeball and _under their eyelid._ Catra chokes on her own saliva. It's so weird, so unexpected, that for a moment she forgets all the hurt she's feeling. "Fucking--what kind of freak _are_ you?" There's a bit of a giggle in her voice.

They slurp their tongue back into their mouth, looking self-satisfied. "An aspiring actor."

She doesn't quite know why, but that makes her burst out laughing. Really, genuinely laughing. "Seriously? I bet you use that excuse for a lot of things, don't you?"

"It's true! In theater, having strange, unique skills will get your foot in the door." They give her a smile that looks almost kind. "Plus, it helps you make cute customers laugh."

She bites her lip, but the corners of her mouth still curl. "Pff. That's not even a good line."

"You have a lovely laugh, you know. I bet not a lot of people get to hear it."

"Shut up." There's no heat behind it. In fact, it's starting to feel like she's just goofing around with this person. Not unlike she used to goof around with Adora… who she's supposed to be hanging out with right now. She sighs. "Hey, where's my drink? I have an awkward get-together to pretend to enjoy."

A glass rises up from behind the bar, held in the coiled end of a long green tail. They wink at her.

Her eyebrows go up. "When did you make that? I was watching you pretty much the whole time."

"Mixed it under the bar. I'm _very_ dexterous with my tail."

She takes the glass, but notices the color is different than expected. She sniffs it. Smells good, but… "This isn't what I ordered."

"It's a whiskey sour. I thought you could use something new. You'll like it, darling, trust me. If you don't, it's on the house."

Huh. Okay... "What's to stop me from saying I didn't like it either way?"

"If you like it, the glass will be empty."

She smirks. "Maybe I'll say I took a sip, hated it, and let one of them finish it off. What then?"

They give her a look she can only describe as sultry. "Guess I'll just have to taste your tongue to check, then."

Heat crawls up her neck. She shakes her head, hoping she's not blushing. "Tch. Whatever." She stands up and turns back toward the table.

"Hey."

She looks over her shoulder. "What?"

"I was serious about that game I mentioned. If it all gets to be too much, swing back around before you leave. I'll give you something to look forward to."

Well. That's… intriguing? Ominous? What kind of game could they even be talking about that would help with a breakup? Whatever.

Catra walks back to the table without another word to the bartender. When she sits back down, all eyes are on her. She sips her drink casually. Huh. It is pretty good. Damn them. "What?"

Adora winces. "Um… are you okay?"

Catra blinks slowly. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" Feigning ignorance is key.

The three of them all exchange glances and - you know what, she doesn't care how in sync they are or how much pity they're all radiating. That bartender was right. Adora's got no right to feel bad for Catra when she did the dumping. "Hey," she says with a convincing smirk, "did Adora ever tell you guys about the time she dropped an egg in the grocery store and then slipped in it?"

In about three seconds, Adora is bright red, looking embarrassed and vaguely betrayed, while Glimmer and Bow are begging her to tell the story with stars in their eyes. Begrudgingly, Adora does. Catra gets to sit back and nurse her drink for the rest of the night while hardly saying a word. Adora and Glimmer keep their flirting to a minimum, but she still sees the hints. The sting in her chest grows duller by the minute (and by the sip). Somehow, she's able to see things from a detached perspective - with a sense of humor, even - because she knows there's someone behind her watching everything, being amused by their every interaction. She glances back once or twice, and they glance up at the same time as if they can sense her attention. She even finds herself smiling at them... a little.

In the end, it's nothing big that makes her decide. It's the little things all stacked up. The way Adora and Glimmer brush hands. The way they realize what they've done and then awkwardly avoid touching each other like Catra is made of glass. Or how they apparently can't stand that for a single evening and move on to nudging each other's feet under the table and chastely patting each other's thighs, while thinking they're being sneaky. Catra's annoyance builds throughout the evening as she watches the pathetic display. But there's a weird satisfaction that comes with it, because she knows there's something she can do about it.

She just doesn't know what that thing is yet, because the bartender hasn't told her.

Eventually the Best Friend Squad has mercy on her. Bow is the first to stand up. "Well, this was fun! Let's do it again sometime." He's strained.

Glimmer smiles at Catra specifically. "Yeah! Definitely." Also strained.

Catra just nods at them. They start leaving, but Adora hangs back. "Hey," she says.

"Hey."

Adora rubs the back of her neck. "Thanks. For coming out, I mean. I appreciate it. Sorry you didn't have a good time…"

Catra chuckles. "Oh, Adora. I had a better time than you think."

"Really?" She brightens. "Then, would you want to hang out with all of us again?"

It makes her heart flutter how enthusiastic she seems. Like she really wants Catra around. But Catra hasn't stopped wanting her in the other way, so the hurt isn't far behind. "Maybe."

Adora tentatively smiles. "Great. I mean, maybe great. I'll… invite you next time we're out on the town. So, you know, see you around… maybe."

"Sure."

And then Adora leaves. Catra watches her go, glimpses her catching up with the other two outside the window. Then she goes back to the bar.

"Hey."

The bartender glances over as they clean a highball glass. "Ohh. Back for more, are we?"

"You said you know a game that'll make me feel better?"

They smile devilishly. "Technically," they drawl, "it'll make _her_ feel worse. Same difference, right?"

She tilts her head and leans on the bar. "What did you have in mind?"

"I'll tell you in a moment. But I expect you'll need time to decide, so… here." They reach into their pocket and retrieve a card, then slide it across the bar.

Catra turns it over. It's a shiny black card with elegant white script. Tasteful, but somehow suggestive as well. There's hardly any text on it. "Double... Trouble? Is that supposed to be your name or your business? And why does a bartender need a card?"

"Name. And they're for talent scouts, darling. Aspiring actor, remember?"

She raises a brow. "You want talent scouts to call you Trouble?"

"Everyone calls me trouble." They wink. "But more to the point, my number's on the bottom."

So it is. "And what exactly is your idea? If you stall anymore I'm leaving."

"Not stalling, just building suspense! Where's your sense of drama?" They lean on the bar with fingers laced under their chin. "Before I tell you, we need to level on one important thing: you're still in love with her, aren't you?"

Catra's ear twitches in annoyance. Well, they're not wrong. "Yes," she grinds out.

"And you'd take her back if you could?"

 _"Yes._ Get to the point."

"The point is," they say, "by the end of this little game, you'll either have her back, or be over her entirely. Guaranteed. What do you think?"

Catra blinks. She doesn't know what to think, other than _this is sketchy as hell._ "You're making it sound like a service. You expect me to pay you for… whatever you're planning to do?"

"Free of charge… as long as I get what I want out of the game."

Her eyes narrow. "Which is?"

"Mm. Call it... acting practice. And anyway, there's no obligation. It's entirely up to you, love. All I can do is explain the game, and you can either choose to call me or throw that card away and never see my pretty face again."

Her eyelid twitches. Is there anything worse than an attractive person who knows they're attractive?

Well... Catra's never been afraid of risk. If this person turns out to be a creep after all, she doesn't doubt she can defend herself. And if they can actually do what they say…

An image of Adora flashes in her mind. A memory. Smiling, laughing, in Catra's bed. Wearing Catra's pajamas. The scent of her shampoo on the pillowcase...

"Lay it on me."

They grin. "It goes something like this…"


	2. Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two co-conspirators meet to hash out their scheme.

Pretend to be a couple. To make Adora jealous. That was the proposal. Double Trouble said it in more words, but that's what it boiled down to.

What a pathetic ploy that would be.

And what's worse is that Catra is actually considering it.

Call her petty, but a part of her wants to see how Adora would act if Catra just… moved on. If she would be hurt like Catra was - still is. If she would feel surprised, regretful, _betrayed…_

"Hey, Catra?"

But what if she's fine with it? How much would that suck, going through all these ridiculous hoops to make your ex jealous, only to find out she's totally okay with you moving on? Or worse - _happy_ for you?

"Hey, um… uh, Catra..."

And what if Adora finds out about the whole thing? The only thing sadder than pretending to date a stranger to make your ex want you again is getting caught. Catra doesn't know if she could live through that humiliation. She definitely couldn't show her face in front of Adora again.

"Catra!"

Okay, she can't ignore Scorpia anymore, she's like three inches away. But she doesn't look up from her phone, where Double Trouble's number stares at her tauntingly. "Hm?"

"I don't want to bother you, but we're kind of in the middle of a rush…" She can practically hear Scorpia rubbing her neck bashfully. The woman was never keen to upset her, even before Catra got promoted to assistant manager.

She glances up with minimal interest. Sure enough, there's a line at the open register. The second register is closed. A responsible employee would open it and hop on.

Still, she is assistant manager, and the manager's not here, so she can say pretty much whatever she wants. "Then work faster."

Scorpia smiles nervously. "Yes ma'am, of course I will! I mean, I am. But, uh, some of these people have been waiting for ten minutes already, and you remember what Hordak said about the online reviews…"

"Ugggghhhh." She reluctantly puts her phone in her pocket. "Where's Entrapta?"

"I don't know! I swear I saw her just… like… twentyyy… thirty minutes ago?"

Catra grumbles under her breath. "I'll go find her."

She stomps away, leaving Scorpia to tend the restless crowd.

Just another day working at The Horde. It's a CD store, which is pretty sad in and of itself. The name is supposed to make people think of a horde of treasure or something, but it's no more special than all the other retailers that cater to thousands of mindless consumers. At least that _was_ the case, until 99% of music went digital. Then places like this got downgraded to "independent." Now it mostly caters to hipsters who want to show off a physical collection. Lucky for Hordak, this city has plenty of those. They even have a fair collection of regulars.

It's not exactly a dream job, but still better than working for some megacorporation. The manager is unfriendly at best, but hey, he keeps to himself unless you screw up. Since he promoted Catra, he hardly even comes in anymore. Catra's pretty much in charge.

It's not always a good thing.

She finds Entrapta in the break room with her arm stuck in the snack machine. Because why not?

Catra looms over her, arms crossed. "Entrapta! Your break ended twenty minutes ago!"

For all her technical know-how, Entrapta doesn't pick up on cues so well. She breaks out in a grin. "Oh, hi Catra! I'll go right back to my post... just as soon as I get out of the machine."

"You know you're supposed to pay for those, not go fishing for them?"

"I did pay!" She adjusts her purple-framed glasses and peers into the machine with analytical focus. "But my mini choco-chunk cookies have gotten stuck. See?"

Catra steps up behind Entrapta. After analyzing the situation for a full quarter-second, she aims a high kick just above Entrapta's head, forcing her to duck with a yelp, and bashes her heel into the polycarbonate glass. The bag of cookies falls down unceremoniously.

"Hooray!" Entrapta cheers. She looks down at her arm, still wrenched into the machine's opening. Her shoulders fall. "Oh."

Catra grabs her by the shoulders and twists her upper body--

"Ow-ow-ow-ow--!"

\--and then yanks. Entrapta falls backward with an 'oof' and somehow gets the bag of cookies in her hand at the same time.

"There."

"I'm saved!" She leaps up and smiles at Catra, long pigtails swinging.

"Yeah, whatever. Get back to work."

"Okay! Is it alright if I eat these at the counter? I'm famished."

Catra rubs her forehead. She doesn't give a crap if the customers think they're unprofessional, but the boss? "Listen, Hordak said--" Her phone buzzes in her pocket, and she suddenly remembers she doesn't care enough about this job to take it seriously. She shrugs. "Yeah, sure. He likes you anyway."

Entrapta gasps. "He said that? Wow. I didn't account for that possibility." Catra starts pushing her out the door. It doesn't seem to interrupt her train of thought any. "I'll need to update my friendship matrix. Something is clearly working better than anticipated!" The door closes, and for the first time this shift Catra has a moment of blessed silence.

She automatically pulls out her phone and checks her notifications. New text... from Adora. Her heart reacts with something between hope and dread as she opens it.

_Hey Catra! How's it going?_

Amazing how such an innocuous message can make her nostalgic. They used to text all day, about everything and nothing.

She types back.

_hey adora_

The three little dots pop up at the bottom of the screen. Adora always was a prompt responder.

_We're all going to lunch at Moonstone this Saturday. I know it's not really your scene but it would be cool if you could come_

Adora leaves a sentence without a full stop when she doesn't know if it's appropriate to use an exclamation mark or not. Apparently sometimes a period sounds "too serious" but an exclamation sounds "too not-serious."

It takes her a few minutes to reply. She has to think. Is it worth it to endure an hour or two of the Best Friend Squad just to get some meager face time with Adora? Last week she almost couldn't handle the three of them on her own.

Or, wait… does she have to be alone? What if...

She types without thinking.

_depends. cool if i bring a date?_

This time, Adora takes a minute to respond.

_A date? Who is it?_

She imagines a baffled Adora on the other side and smirks.

_just someone i met recently. was gonna see em this weekend but hey, 2 birds 1 stone_

_Oh it's okay if you already have plans! No need to change them!_

Woof. Two exclamations in a row. Is she already getting bothered?

_nah its fine, theyll like you_

Catra watches as the three dots show up for a long time. Then stop. Then show up again.

_The more the merrier_

No full stop. Catra grins. Adora has no idea how to feel right now.

_cool. see you then. gotta get back to work_

Oh. _Oh,_ that felt good. She didn't even see Adora's face, but just imagining her looking jealous is like a shot of dopamine straight to her brain.

Now she's officially committed, which means she has to put those new digits to use. She pulls her contacts back up and finds the one she named "Trouble." She hits the call button.

It rings. Once, twice…

Click.

"Is this kitten?"

Her eyebrows go up. Did they get her number somehow? She tries not to sound surprised. "It's Catra, you weirdo. I told you not to call me that."

She hears a laugh. "Oh, good! I never did get your name. Catra. Cat-ra. Ca… _tra._ How cute."

She's gonna have to put up with a lot to make this work, isn't she? She opts to ignore the teasing. "How did you know it was me? You don't get a lot of callers?"

"I get plenty, thank you! You're just the only one whose name isn't in my phone already. I'll correct that now."

She smirks. "Well, make it something sweet, because we have a date on Saturday. And there will be witnesses."

A delighted gasp comes out of the phone. "You're serious? _Darling._ Tell me you're not playing with my feelings. Do I get to act in front of a live audience?"

"Yeah. And it better be convincing."

"I know no other way. Now, we need to meet up. The sooner the better. Your place or mine?"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, darling. You didn't think we'd take to the stage without rehearsing?"

"Uh…" She's at a loss. She did think that, actually. Deflect. "Aren't you taking this 'acting' shtick a little too seriously?"

"You want to convince her, don't you? We won't be very believable if we don't have our facts straight."

"It's fine. I told her I just met you. This is gonna be our first date."

"See? If I hadn't pushed the issue, I bet you wouldn't have even told me that. I would've said we've been dating for a few weeks, and then our cover would be blown!"

Okay, they do have a point. "Well, there's nothing else we need to know about each other. That was it."

 _"Au contraire, mon petit chaton._ What about how we first met? Every couple has a story."

"At a bar."

They scoff. "Work with me, will you? Have a little imagination."

She rolls her eyes. "And what would _you_ say, aspiring actor?"

"That's the sort of discussion we should have in person. Just trust me."

"Generally, I try not to trust people I just met who want me to meet them at their house."

She can almost hear their pointy grin. "Your place, then?"

 _Ugh._ What time is it? She pulls her phone away from her ear to check. Damn. She really should get back out there… "You know what? Fine. Just to shut you up. I'll text you the address."

"Splendid! It's a date. Well, more like a pre-date. I'll bring the snacks."

"Snacks?" She sneers. "How long are you planning to stay?"

"As long as it takes to create our performance." They pause, then their next words sound farther away. "You're going to be 'Kitten' in my phone. Just so you know."

She cringes. "No. No way."

"Then how about… Sweetie? Or honey? Pumpkin? Oh! _Snookums."_

She throws her free hand in the air. "Ok, fine, you win! Kitten can stay."

They give a low chuckle. "Perfect. I'll see you later… kitten." And then they hang up.

Oh, they are so pleased with themself, aren't they?

Whatever.

Ignoring the warm feeling on her face, Catra leaves the break room to make sure Scorpia and Entrapta don't set the store on fire.

\--

Seven P.M. The perfect time for a date, or for a lazy night in, or for an aspiring actor to come over and practice convincing your friends that they're your romantic partner. Whichever.

Catra bounces her leg impatiently as she waits on the couch, solid oak bat concealed under the throw pillow. It's not that she's afraid of strangers - because that's what Double Trouble _is,_ no matter how familiar they act or how pleasantly conspiratorial they make her feel. She's just being prepared. She didn't survive this long in her dingy, low-income downtown apartment by being unarmed. Somewhere there's a would-be mugger with one eye who can attest to that.

She hears an upbeat knock and a muffled, "Oh, kitten~!"

"Uggghh." She wishes she hadn't caved on the pet name so easily. Her neighbors better not have heard that. She gets up and unlocks the door in no real hurry.

Before she even sees their face, they thrust a plastic bag in through the opening. "I brought snacks and booze!"

She reels back. "Booze?"

They pop their head inside with a wide grin. "We could be here awhile. I figured we might need some help staying motivated."

She makes a noncommittal noise. "Get in and close the door. This AC isn't free."

She turns on her heel. The door clicks shut as she plops back down on the couch. The sudden pressure next to her almost startles her. It's been some time since anyone shared this couch with her. The last person was, of course, Adora.

Double Trouble tents their hands. "What a… lovely place you have."

"No it's not." Her "vintage" couch from an estate sale and the beat up coffee table she found in an alley? Not likely. "Let's get on with it."

"Ahh, Catra." The back of her neck tingles when they say her name. "Chatty as ever. Straight to business, hm?"

She purses her lips. "Well we're not here to cuddle."

"Unless y--"

She shoves her open palm over their mouth. "Okay, no, don't finish that sentence."

They push her hand down and smirk. "You've got to be careful around me, kitten. I don't let an opportunity pass me by."

"Yeah, I'm sensing that," she grumbles. "Let's get on with it. What did you mean by 'rehearsing?'"

"Well, first we need to agree on the basics. So how did we meet?"

"At a bar, like I said on the phone."

They look disappointed. "Kitten… a good meet-cute should convincingly pave the way for a serious relationship down the road. 'At a bar?'" They imitate her voice. "It's easy to sell, but it hardly gets the audience hungry for more."

She groans. "We're not doing a play! It doesn't have to be elaborate. We're just pretending we're dating."

"That's not all we're doing." They shake their pointer finger at her. "We're also drawing your ex-girlfriend into a spiral of regret and despair so powerful that she'll hurtle headfirst into a grand romantic gesture in a desperate bid to win you back!"

She shakes her head. "What the hell are you t--"

"So we need to pull out all the stops! 'At a bar' does not a grand romantic gesture make."

Catra's eyelid twitches. "But they probably _saw_ you at the bar last week! Anything else would be suspicious!"

They stop short, eyes wide and membranes blinking. They tap their chin for a few seconds, then shrug. "Alright, at the bar. We can work with that."

Catra groans and drops her arms to her sides. "Okay, what's next?"

Double Trouble recovers quickly, smiling wide. "What was the spark?"

"The what?" She knows what they mean. She just can't believe they called it that.

"The spark! The thing that set fire to both our hearts!"

Catra sticks her pinky in her ear to scratch an itch. "I dunno. We're both attractive?"

"Do go on, darling." Their sultry smile falls as soon as it appeared. "But seriously, that's a terrible reason."

She flicks the wax off her finger. "Why does this have to be complicated? It's not like they're gonna ask all this stuff."

Double Trouble rolls their eyes. "Ugh. Would you try to get into the spirit? For goodness sake, we're trying to inspire jealousy! Remorse! Desire!" They suddenly stand up and leap onto the coffee table next to the bag of goodies, and it's actually kind of impressive since they're in three-inch heels. "We are creating real life art! I, for one, won't settle for a half-hearted performance. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Catra glares at them. "Get off my table."

They sit down on it instead, directly across from her. All that grandstanding about art and acting must come from experience, because they sure know how to make their eyes sparkle on cue. "This needs to be believable, kitten. The more we build the story, the more we can play with our audience's emotions. Actors don't get it from nowhere, you know. I bet if you dig deep down into your broken heart and pull out some real feelings, you'll come up with something to inspire our facade." They tap their chin. "For instance… what drew you to blondie?"

Her heart twinges. Catra looks away. Instead of answering the question, she says, "It's Adora."

They pull a face. "So not her name, then."

She scoffs. "Like 'Double Trouble' is any better?"

"It's a good icebreaker. And you're avoiding the question."

She clenches her teeth. What drew her? It wasn't like she had a lot of options. They were two kids in the same foster home. They didn't get to go out, didn't even get to go to normal school. They didn't have parents or teachers or other friends to rely on. All they had was each other…

Finally, she sighs, "It's a long story."

Double Trouble stares at her - into her, more like. Their ears flick minutely. They seem to understand something. They reach into the plastic bag and take out a bottle of gin. "We've got all night, and I'm a world-class listener."

Her eyes travel between them and the bottle. Right off the bat she wants to tell them off, because it's a hell of a bad idea. They're a stranger in her home, trying to lower her walls with alcohol. A lot of horror stories have started the same way. But if she's being honest, that's not what scares her. There's a fine line between loosening up and spilling her whole life story, every teary word of it, and the difference is awfully hard to measure in ounces.

But since when did she ever make good decisions? She flips a coin in her brain, and it lands gin-side up. "I'll get the glasses. You mix the drinks."

Their ears perk up. "I live to serve."

"But don't even think about trying anything." As she stands, she pulls out the bat from behind the pillow and slings it over her shoulder. She doesn't acknowledge it as she walks to the kitchen.

Their eyes follow her, suddenly wide. "Kitten… I don't suppose you just got back from baseball practice?"

She smirks. "Nope."

\--

To her credit, Catra only has two drinks that night. Maybe it's just her company, with their supernatural ability to guide the conversation exactly where they want it to go, but two's enough to get her pretty talkative anyway.

"She _promised_ me. She promised that nothing really bad could happen as long as we were together. And then she just..." She trails off, jaw clenching.

To their credit, Double Trouble has been watching and listening with rapt attention since the moment she started. Catra hasn't even seen them blink. "Do you think that promise extended to courtship?"

"No! It's not like I expected her to date me forever. Not if she didn't want to…" The last part is quiet. "But she didn't have to leave like that. She could've, I don't know, talked to me first! It was like I looked away, just for a second, and she became a whole new person."

They nod thoughtfully. "She moved on and left you behind."

Catra winces at her empty glass. Every time she thinks about this, she feels like she's overreacting. Adora met some new people, got weirdly close to them really fast, and then went off to college with them. It's not like the world ended. But she can't change how she feels about it. And she feels shitty. It was like Adora suddenly realized the rest of the world existed and decided it was worth leaving her little corner of it behind. Fine for her - she had new friends to guide her through the transition. But Catra didn't have anyone else. Her only support was just ripped out from under her.

"She wanted me to come with her, but..." Why didn't she? It would've made both their lives easier if she just said yes. After all this time, she still doesn't know the reason. Only that the thought of Adora making a big life decision and just expecting Catra to go along with it made her blood boil. Enough to ruin everything.

"You resented her."

Is it the alcohol, or did the room just jerk? Catra looks at them, confused. "What did you say?"

They gesture like it's supposed to be obvious. "You resented her. Adora was always the golden child, while you were the problem child. At that age, neither of you really deserved those titles - they just got assigned to you based on things you couldn't control. She got encouraged to improve, while you got punished for failing. When you _really_ tried, you were highly successful - but Adora was always just a little bit better, seemingly without effort. Eventually, it just wasn't worth it to try anymore, was it?" Their claws tap the coffee table rhythmically. "So you accepted the role you were given, and that translated into Ms. Weaver treating her like treasure and you like trash. And worse, Adora never even seemed _aware_ of her advantage."

It's like they're ripping the words out of her brain. Her heart races with the rage she's been beating down these past months. She thought it would hurt to dredge up these memories, but the anger she's feeling right now... it feels _good._ "Yeah… you're right."

They fold their hands under their chin. "So, we've covered your childhood… now what was the sex like?"

Catra chokes on her own saliva. "Sh-shut up! I'm done talking. What was even the point of all this?"

"The point," they say, "was to get your feelings out in the open."

Anger bubbles in her - but not the good kind. "Why _my_ feelings? This is about getting to Adora!"

"They're tied together. Don't you see, darling?" They lace their long fingers together. "This isn't the beginning of the story. It began all those years ago, with little Kittra and Adora-ble promising to keep each other safe. We're just writing the next scene." They flash a wicked grin. "And now that I've heard the story up to this point, I think I know what should happen next."

She scoffs. "Yeah, great. This better be worth it."

"Oh, don't act like you didn't get anything out of this little tête-à-tête. Wasn't it cathartic to finally get it all out?"

She crosses her arms. "What makes you think I haven't told someone before you?"

"I can tell." They smile brightly. "Now, do you want to hear my ideas? I have a lot of them."

She can't believe this night isn't over yet. "Are you gonna give me a choice?"

Their innocent expression doesn't fool her whatsoever.

"Fine. Tell me how we're gonna play this. And keep the monologuing to a minimum."

"No promises, kitten."

So they tell her. And it's clear they were listening closely and spinning their wheels the whole time she was talking. Even though she just gave them the highlights, the sort of relationship they propose mirrors the one she had with Adora. Scarily so. Down to the way they should talk to each other, how they should touch each other, how often, and even the "spark" that supposedly got them together in the first place.

But they're not the only one paying attention. When they've finished speaking and are waiting with their hands clasped for Catra's feedback, she realizes something. "You've done this before."

Their ear twitches. "Oh. Well, yes. Not this _exactly,_ but things like this."

She narrows her eyes. For the first time, she's curious - not about what they can do for her, but about _them._ "Why?"

"One has to pay the bills somehow, darling. I simply fill a demand."

She pulls a face. "A demand for, what, fake dates? Seriously?"

"For any role that a person might need. But enough about me. I think we have everything we need for our date on Saturday." They bat their eyelashes. "If you want to _really_ get to know each other, though, I'm available anytime you are."

She doesn't hesitate. "Nah. Get out. I have to work early tomorrow."

If she knew them better, she might be able to call that silly look on their face a pout. "Suit yourself." They gather up what remains of the gin, mixers, and assorted chips they brought. They start leaving, but stop just in front of the door. "It's gotten pretty dark out."

"Duh. It's nine P.M."

"Could be dangerous for a person to walk home alone..."

"Take a taxi."

"In this economy? Who can afford it?" They make a show of rubbing their shoulders comfortingly. "I would feel a lot better if someone could walk me home. Someone with a weapon, perhaps."

"Double Trouble," she says with a threatening calm, "if you take up one more minute of my time tonight, 'someone with a weapon' is going to bludgeon you with it."

They stare, testing her resolve. She stares back, unwavering. If they couldn't take care of themself, they wouldn't be bartending in the Crimson district. Finally, they roll their eyes, all pretense gone, and scoff. "You're no fun."

"Saturday. Noon. Moonstone Cafe. Don't be late."

"Only fashionably." They grin at her through the closing doorway. "Goodnight, kitten."

Click.

The apartment suddenly goes quiet.

"...Night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops it's been awhile. I can't promise to update more frequently, because my motivation comes and goes ¯\\_ (ツ)_/¯ Oh well. Enjoy! And thanks for all the comments!


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